A London-based British luxury fashion house, famous for the trench coat and the Burberry Check, with its coats still made in Castleford, Yorkshire.
Burberry is a British luxury fashion house best known for its trench coats, scarves, handbags and the Burberry Check pattern. It makes clothing, bags, shoes and accessories for women, men and children, sold in its own shops, online and through department stores. The company has about 410 stores around the world. Its heritage is in outerwear: the brand's own history page sums up its message as "For 170 years, we have pioneered clothing that protects people from the elements."
Thomas Burberry, a former draper's apprentice, opened his first shop in Basingstoke in 1856, aged 21, to make clothing that protected people from British weather. In 1879 he invented gabardine, a hard-wearing, breathable, weatherproof cloth, which was patented in 1888. Polar explorers such as Roald Amundsen and Ernest Shackleton wore Burberry, and the trench coat grew out of designs for army officers in the First World War. The company's own site does not give a formal mission or values statement, so we have not invented one. It does describe the Equestrian Knight logo, with the Latin word "Prorsum" (forwards), as a symbol of protection, innovation and looking ahead.
Burberry's registered office is Horseferry House in Westminster, London, and it has had a London presence since 1891, including premises in the Haymarket from 1913. Its trench coats are still made at its Castleford factory in West Yorkshire, which it bought in 1972. In 2020 that factory was retooled to make protective equipment for the NHS, with over 160,000 pieces donated. Its fabric has also been woven at a mill in Cross Hills near Keighley. Beyond London and Yorkshire, Burberry shops are found across the UK.
The company says it aims to be an open, inclusive employer that puts the wellbeing of its people first, which is its own claim. It has run a charitable Burberry Foundation since 2008, and its Burberry Inspire programme began by supporting young people in Yorkshire before being widened to reach 500,000 young people worldwide within three years. Creative leaders have included Christopher Bailey, Riccardo Tisci and, since 2022, Daniel Lee, and Joshua Schulman became chief executive in July 2024. Burberry employed about 9,300 people in 2025 and announced a cost-cutting plan that month of up to 1,700 jobs, so the picture is changing.
A fashion house this size needs many different people: designers and pattern cutters, skilled makers in the Yorkshire factory, buyers and merchandisers, shop and customer-service teams, digital and e-commerce specialists, and people in finance, legal, supply chain and sustainability. You do not have to be a designer to work in fashion. The company's own website lists its current roles and the different parts of the business.
Website: www.burberryplc.com
PURPOSE helps school and university students explore 62 sectors and over 1,000 entry-level careers in the UK, then connects them directly with employers.
Explore PURPOSE